Deals with the Devil
by Avid.Spade
Summary: Kirihara's low grades - as expected - brought him to the only place his sempai would send him to 'concentrate'. What he didn't expect was the gorgeous brunette working there. Taking the upper hand of the situation Kirihara can't help but annoy the hell out of her. Likewise, she's not backing down without a fight either.
1. Obnoxious: he's the Devil

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or anything associated with it.

* * *

Kirihara couldn't believe it. After long, sought hours of extremely Spartan training, he was going to the library. Yes, the library. Of course, on normal days where he'd just head home to his cozy bed and snooze till next morning, Kirihara would be extremely prone to not do his work, but today was different. It's not like he wanted to go, to say the least, but because of his unbelievably persistent sempai he really wasn't left with any choice.

To put is simply, he was being forced to go.

Sure he was great at tennis, no doubt about that, but his schoolwork and behavior on the other hand were less to brag about, especially with the recent outcome of marks. So his team had apparently come to the conclusion that he needed more practice- at certain subjects – which thus began a series of events that made him realize, somewhat, of how important the subject of school was.

Kirihara was extremely surprised to find out what lengths his team be willing to go for his grades to go up; Yukimura was even willing to let him cut tennis practice time to squeeze in some studying time.

He sighed to himself as he walked down the street.

After all this, he really couldn't refuse.

"Eh, excuse me, where's the library?"

The woman stared at him as if he had asked some taboo question. "I beg your pardon, but did you just ask where the library is, young man?"

"Yeah, I thought it was somewhere around here…but I can't seem to find it," he admitted, scratching his head.

The woman gave him a once and over look to see if he was all right in the head. The woman shook her head, muttering to herself, "I see…you can't find it you say…" she trailed off, as Kirihara nodded.

She sighed and pointed right above where he was standing, "look there, young man. I'm sure you can find your way in I assume?" She questioned seriously.

Kirihara turned his head upward only to see the library sign dangling right above his head. His cheeks stained slightly red at the woman's remark, and understood why she seemed so confused by his question. He had been standing in front of the library the whole time.

"Thanks," he mumbled quietly, and walked inside as the woman nodded.

Once inside, Kirihara wasn't sure what he was exactly supposed to do. Frankly speaking, he hadn't actually been to a library before except for the one at his school. Not wanting to look more lost than he already was, Kirihara paced forward and grabbed a table.

He was glad he had chosen one located in the corner where he was surrounded by shelves and plants that were hardly visible to most. Kirihara sighed and slung off his bag, slumping into his seat a little as he looked out the window. He had one hour before he had to go home since the bus took around half an hour and sometimes even one whole hour to reach his stop.

He took out his books and set them on the table, opening a few to begin with. Then he took out his pencil and stared at the page and his book. What exactly was he supposed to do?

"Crap, I can't do this!" He whispered harshly, staring at the paper.

He needed some help.

He turned himself around, scanning the area of the upper library; nothing but old people or serious study folk. He lamely stood up, leaving his stuff scattered and walked down the stairs to the lower level. Kirihara thought the upper lever was concealing, but once he walked into the lower level, he realized how mistaken he was. The whole place was filled with rows, and rows of books with some computers in the corner.

He aimlessly walked around, through the isles of books and stopped dead in his tracks when he heard light laughter coming from the isle beside him. Curiously, Kirihara peeped through the shelve holes to see who it was.

A sudden chill of nostalgia struck him hard.

"What is she doing here?" Kirihara breathed out, in a slight state of shock.

There she was, standing there, laughing shamelessly, hand covering her mouth.

_Ann Tachibana. _

Kirihara was too curious for his own good. _Why is she laughing?_ He thought, furrowing his eyebrows in contemplation. He moved closer to his right to find the cause of the laughter. Kirihara saw a person with dark red hair falling partly over the side of his face and realized that there was only one person with that type of hair.

Kamio.

He rolled his eyes knowingly. _Of course, who else would it be_, he thought.

He watched them a little longer since the two were clearly unaware that they were being watched. It seemed like forever, but shortly after, Kamio took his leave and before he did, he hesitantly reached out and gave Ann a light hug, which in response she blushed to lightly.

Kirihara watched the whole conversation in disdain and turned away to watch as Kamio left. Once he was gone, he swiftly turned her head around to find her, but she had left. He walked around to the isle she had been standing in, and saw a flick of light brown hair around the end of the isle. He quickly followed, making sure not to make any disruptive noises. Kirihara watched, jaws dropping as she walked behind the library counter and took a seat in the chair there. He was slightly taken aback when he read the plate on the counter. It read: _Help/ information desk. _

_Since when does she work? And here…? _He thought, walking out the isle.

Kirihara felt a sudden smugness.

Privileged even, is what he would call it, if she didn't piss him off to such an unbearable extent.

Knowing about her job and letting her get off this easy?

It just didn't fit right in his head.

Besides, it wasn't like he wouldn't be here often. The thought of coming to the library everyday was beginning to seem less tedious.

With that in mind, he arrogantly walked up to the help desk, where Ann was presently occupied with work on the computer. He smirked down at her working form, noticing how deeply submerged she was in it.

"Excuse me miss, I need some help finding a book? Do you think you could help me?"

Ann continued typing, not looking up, "of course sir, just give me a moment and I'll be right with you."

Kirihara raised his brow at her calmness and decided to make her well aware of his presence, "be right with me? You mean like how you were hugging that Kamio kid a few minutes ago?" He said, leaning on the front desk.

Ann's head snapped up at the name.

She knew that voice sounded familiar, "You!" She whispered, glaring up at him now.

Kirihara felt his heart bloat now that that he had here attention. "Me?" He mocked, looming over her desk area now.

She shook her head in annoyance, "Kirihara, what do you want?" Ann exasperated, clearly not content with the unexpected turn of events. It had been a while since she had seen him, and when she did see, all Ann really wanted to do was introduce her fist to his face.

"I want you-"

"What?" She asked angrily, but a light hue of pink was evident on her face. Kirihara felt even better, rejoicing over her blush. He wasn't exactly sure why, but seeing her in such a fretting state made him feel better.

_Or worse,_ he mentally thought.

"I want you to help me," he said slowly, looking very amused now. Ann looked frazzled, not only because of his presences, but also since she had misinterpreted his meaning.

"R-right, what do you need help with?" She asked politely.

Kirihara smirked at her politeness, "your going to have to get out of that little box of yours if your going to help me," he marveled, pointing at the desk area.

By now her hands were clenched tightly around the desk edge, but she smiled anyhow, "of course, how silly of me," she said, getting up. Once she was out she glared at Kirihara, "what do you want?" she hissed again, so no one heard.

Kirihara tilted his head in amusement, "there are a few books I want, I was hoping you could recommend me some good ones…on world history," he added lamely.

She nodded remorsefully, as he followed her down the isles. Walking, he wondered why she hadn't screamed at him yet, or thrown insults at him yet as usual. He figured it had something to do with the library job, but whatever it was, it gave him complete advantage over her.

"Here we are, now good luck finding your stuff," she muttered, stalking away.

Kirihara quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, "who said you could leave," he whispered to her.

"Now help me find the books I want," Kirihara demanded.

He was surprised when she didn't argue, but simply marched up to the shelves and turned around, her eyes still glaring holes through him.

"What kind of history book?" She asked, tapping her foot impatiently. Her plan wasn't to stick around for long; in fact, she wanted to leave him as soon as possible.

Kirihara stood quiet for a few moments. He had no idea why he had come here; he merely wanted to bug her and occupy time. "Eh…something on war," he stated, trying to maintain a look of normalcy

"You're going to have to be more specific," she retaliated coolly.

He stared aimlessly at the books above her head, " fine then, something world war 2," he replied. Kirihara pointed at a book just above her head, just high enough for her to reach.

"Okay," she said slowly, grabbing the book.

"That one too," he said, pointing to one on the far right corner; he couldn't even see the title of that. He walked behind her slowly, as she went to fetch another book.

"Oh, and that one. And that one too, and that one," he said, pointing on shelf higher each time until she couldn't reach the chosen book anymore.

Kirihara watched slyly, as she went up on her toes, attempting to grab the book down. "Need some help?" He asked, teasingly.

She turned around to give him a hard stare, "no thank you, I've got this," she added. Kirihara knew where this was going; either the bookcase was going to fall, she was going to fall or both were going to fall, and he would rather not have any one of those things happening.

"Let me get that." Ann watched the larger, more callous hand reach up a little higher than hers, to grab the book. Kirihara moved his hand painstakingly slow, so that when it he got the book, he was a mere few centimeters from her face. Ann stood still, feeling his body heat radiate and watched as his hand brush past her face.

"Here we are," he said, clicking his tongue.

Ann turned around and roughly shoved the seven books into his chest, "no, here you are," she shot back.

"Well now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do," she pointed, gesturing at the desk table. Kirihara realized that he had been invading her personal space, since she could barely move out. He moved his hands out of the way and took a few steps back. Without looking back, Ann walked over to the front desk, once again seating herself on the chair.

From her table, she shot him a murderous glare, which he read as 'get the hell out of the library if you don't have anything better to do.'

Kirihara chuckled, satisfied with the turn of events. He walked back upstairs to grab his bag.

Astonishingly, he was looking forward to returning the next day. He grinned, walking out of the library and down the street.

As he walked on the sidewalk, Kirihara tried to come up with more ways to pester the Ann Tachibana girl, and found each idea to be better than the last.

Kirihara grinned foolishly.

He caught the bus just in time and slept all the way home.

* * *

**Author Note:** This is a re-post of a story I posted a while back, but deleted because I didn't get much time or ideas to work on it. Getting back to it, I'm making changes and adding things as I've decided to finish this story. Thank you for reading and as always, reviews are greatly appreciated~


	2. Stalking: everyone's doing it

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or anything associated with it.

* * *

It was, to put it simply, highly amusing. He just couldn't stop. For the past week, Kirihara's daily visits to the library had been nothing but beseechingly good and exceptionally entertaining. His so called study sessions after school could preferably been seen as 'stalking sessions' as a normal person would label his after school excursion. With the newfound information about his 'enemy', Kirihara Akaya could barely go a day without seeing her. He would never in his dreams admit it, but it was developing into an unusually bad habit. While he was gloating with smugness, An on the other hand found it difficult to even breathe in his presence.

On another so called study day, just before the library was at its closing hours, Kirihara sauntered over to the front desk as usual. He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.

"The library's closing, sir," she hissed. Her eyes didn't leave her screen, as her hands moved aimlessly across the keys.

Kirihara knew where this was going- so did she.

"As if I didn't know," he said, rolling his eyes and leaning over the front desk. The conversation would start at the front desk, and slowly but surely, would somehow come to stand amongst the rows of books, hidden from sight.

"Well then, you'd probably like to pick up your bags and get out," she replied back, as he raised a brow.

"Is that how your supposed to speak to a regular library visitor, or am I just a special case?" Kirihara asked, his eyes holding mockery in them.

She snapped her hands down hard on the keys, "I thought it'd be best to inform you that the janitors usually throw out anything that's left around here. Including your stuff- and you."

Kirihara chuckled openly, "oh yeah, and what about you? Don't they throw you out too when you rudely talk with a visitor such as me?"

Ann stopped typing and stared up at him. He noticed that she looked more tired and weary than usually; he could almost make out dark circles under her eyes.

"What do you want?" She heaved.

He licked his lips dryly, "I need some help- again."

She slowly got up from the chaired, and walked out to face him. "So what'll it be this time?"

As usual, Kirihara had no clue what book he wanted. He was merely craving a little bit of her time and attention. Unfortunately once he had it, he wasn't sure what to do with it, except fool around.

"Nothing specific, just something related to the- the biodiversity of a temperate rainforests," he mumbled quickly, as she nodded.

Again, he followed her down the rows of books, watching her move swiftly and quickly. She stopped at an isle that was located deep in library, "I think this is what you're looking for," she said, pointed up at the top most shelf.

He smirked, "can you get them for me?"

An crossed her arms, her eyes looking unbelievably tired yet angry at the same time. As he had noticed earlier, she seemed a bit off- more off than usually, and he knew at once by the look on her face, that he should've just gotten the book himself.

"Look Kirihara, I don't know why your asking me to get it, when clearly you can reach it yourself!"

"Well I-"

"Clearly you're too dense to notice that I've hardly been sleeping. Plus I'm really not in the mood to put up with your needs right now, and you being here is only worsening my headache," she exasperated.

Kirihara stared at her.

An took his silence as an opportunity to continue, "I don't even know why you bother- I thought you hated me to begin with and now, coming here like this- almost everyday for no reason. Just shove off, and next time you need to find a book, use this!"

Kirihara stumbled as she shoved a fat book in his hands and stormed out of the isle, leaving him quite speechless. He knew he shouldn't have pushed her buttons, but he couldn't help but blame her too for his own convenience. He cursed angrily and looked at the book in his hand.

_A beginners guide for book hunting- hunt your books without hunting for help!_

"Great, now she thinks I'm animalistic too…I only asked for a book on biodiversity," he muttered to himself as he walked over to get his stuff.

It was time to go home.

* * *

"Jackal, how are Kirihara's study sessions going?" Yukimura asked the next day, as the group was finishing up their last laps.

Jackal looked up from his position on the bench, "don't ask me- I don't even go with him to the library," he shrugged, and drank from his water bottle.

"How do we even _know_ he is studying?" Niou stated, walking up from the side with Yagyuu, Yanagi and Marui.

"Yeah, for all we know, the kid could be blowing gum in a shoe store while flirting with some girls" Marui added, casually as there other sighed at his off-handed comment.

"99% chance that he is not," Yanagi corrected apprehensively.

Yagyuu tipped his glasses, "well say he's not studying. That could create a whole knew problem…" he trailed off, as Yukimura nodded.

"Then I guess we'll have to send someone with him for a simply monitoring session…any volunteers?" Yukimura chimed, smiling.

"I have student council to attend to."

"Unfortunately, Inui and I our currently experimenting on our new chemical concoction."

"And I have to go for a hospital check-up then attend to the tennis team." Yukimura said at last.

The three looked at the remaining- Niou whistled and looked away towards the sky, while Jackal vigorously tied his shoe laces and Marui found a leaf on the ground very interesting all of sudden.

Yukimura clasped his hands together, "Well, I guess it's decided then- Marui, Niou and Jackal. You three can join Kirihara at the-"

"No way!" Marui blurted out as the other two nodded. "I'm busy…I have to chew gum-"

"Which you can do in the library," Yagyuu cut in swiftly, as Yanagi nodded.

"Why can't Sanada go? He'd probably do a better job of looking after him," Jackal added logically, but Yukimura shook his head.

"I agree that Sanada could cover more than the three of you put together, but he's busy to, so I'll leave it to you three then," he concluded.

"Where is the brat anyway?" Marui asked, popping his bubblegum.

"He's got extra laps everyday cause he misses the ones after school, so fuku-bouchou makes him run twice as many in the morning," Yagyuu replied back nonchalantly.

"So after school we follow him to the library?" Jackal asked.

Niou snorted in response, "sounds more like stalking to me."

"No, you merely accompany him there and just keep an eye on him." Yanagi retaliated.

The three looked convinced enough and nodded.

"Got it."

* * *

After school, Kirihara got his books and headed straight for the library. He wasn't in his usual hurry today, as their previous encounter had been anything but good. He calmly towards the library, slowing down as he got closer.

"Hmmm, that book bag looks heavy, brat…I was sure you'd have passed out by now," Marui said, staring down at his book bag.

Kirihara stopped walking, a snapped around. His eyes widened at the sight of his sempai, "you...!"

"Me, yes me…I mean us," Marui grinned, as Jackal and Niou strolled up from behind him, as if they had no partake in this. Kirihara worriedly eyed the three of them before speaking.

"What're you doing here?"

Niou chuckled, "why following you, of course," he replied with mocking courtesy.

"Well…I'm going to the book store, so uhm-"

"Since when do you read?" Marui asked with interest, as he flamboyantly popped his gum.

"Shut up," Kirihara replied lamely.

"Never mind that, let's go to book store then," Jackal said, tapping his foot impatiently at the group. Kirihara looked around for away out- clearly there was none.

"Actually, I'm going to the shoe store…and maybe the local grocery store and also-"

"Tch. Don't even think about mentioning the washroom, Kirihara, cause we have orders to follow you in there too."

Marui nodded, "yeah, so go straight to where your supposed to be going, and don't mind us…we're just going to be following you all the way there," he added, as Kirihara grunted in response.

He turned around and began walking in the direction of the library, three people tailing behind him.

* * *

"Kirihara, shouldn't you start your studying now?" Jackal asked, as they seated themselves in the library. Kirihara had chosen a very concealed place in the midst of plants and many seats, along with tall bookcases that almost seemed to be hovering over them.

"Yeah, I'll- I'll get started," he muttered. His eyes roamed the area, looking for a clearing. The group had decided to sit on the upper level, which meant he couldn't see her. He needed a quick diversion.

"I need to get some books from the lower level- I'll be back," he said. He quickly got up from his seat and strolled over to the stairs, disappearing out of site.

Niou and Marui had come back. They had gone to get magazines and books, seeing as they had nothing to do. They dropped in their seats and turned towards Jackal.

"Where'd he run off to?" Niou asked, staring at Kirihara's empty chair.

Jackal hooked a thumb in the direction of the stairs, not looking up from his magazine, "he said he was getting a book that he needed from downstairs."

"Hmm, that's actually kind of odd, don't you think?" Marui asked casually, as the other two looked up.

Jackal stared at his doubles partner with interest, "what do you mean? What's so odd?"

Marui rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "well, firstly since when does Kirihara read exactly? I don't mean that kind of read. I mean the one where he willingly goes to pick up a book himself."

Niou stared long and hard at Kirihara's book bag, before snatching it of the chair side a scrambling through it.

"H-hey, are you sure we should be doing that?" Jackal questioned, raising a brow.

Niou grinned, "don't worry, it's for his own good," he said, emptying the contents of his bag on the desk.

He picked up one of the books and flipped through them. "Marui open that notebook your holding," Niou demanded, and Marui complied, flipping through the pages of the book.

They were empty.

"It's like he hasn't even opened the text books more than once," Jackal said, breaking the silence.

Marui scoffed, and stared down at the blank notebook, "he probably hasn't opened anything in that bag more than once."

"Hey, look at this- _A beginners guide for book hunting- hunt your books without hunting for help!" _Jackal held up the fat book, as Marui grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"Wow, this is so-so-so-"

"Animalistic," Niou cut in shortly, also finding the book extremely amusing.

"What's it doing in his bag- I mean, he doesn't even need it if he's not going to do his work, right?" Jackal pointed out.

Niou furrowed his eye brows at the items on the desk, "so his text books have hardly been touched, and his notebook has nothing written on it, and he has a no use book in his bag, yet he still goes down stairs to get what- a book?" He stated, pondering, as the others stared at him in awe.

"Looks like we've cracked the code of Kirihara," Marui joked, as Jackal sighed.

"So what is he doing downstairs then?" Jackal asked, turning in the direction of the staircase.

Marui shrugged in response, " I don't know, painting his toe nails, maybe?"

The other two looked glanced at him, as he grinned sheepishly, "what, you never know, he might be," he replied in defense.

"Let's go downstairs and find out."

"Hey guys, could we stop in the food section on the way?"

"This is a library, Marui - it doesn't have one."

* * *

Kirihara sneaked his way around the isles, stealing quick glances towards the front help desk.

Yep.

She was there, sitting tall and typing away furiously on the computer. He continued to stare at her; his vivid green eyes roamed around her face, from her hazel eyes, to her petit nose, a perfect plump lips-

A figure suddenly cut in his view, disturbing his thoughts. He noted that the figure was no older than him and had red short hair, which looked awfully familiar. He moved over to the next isle in order to get a better view. He watched as Ann stood up, smiling lusciously at the person in front of her.

She walked out of her little box, and guided him towards the enclosed case of book isles where Kirihara was standing. Kirihara quickly moved through the isle and into the next, close enough to hear their conversation, but stay out of sight. He watched her guide the person into the isle beside him. Kirihara pretended to be just another average person, rummaging through the bookshelf.

"Don't be silly, Kamio, I can't leave right now…maybe tomorrow," Ann replied, as Kamio nodded in understanding.

"Sure, I'll wait for you at our usual spot then?" Kamio asked, turning a little red in response, as Ann giggled.

Kirihara watched, ruthful.

He was having difficulty understanding how this was the same person he talked to yesterday- she seemed so different. Maybe she just wanted to avoid him.

"Okay, well bye then, work hard," Kamio said and bent down to give her a light peck on the cheek. She blushed hard in response, and waved as he walked out of the library. Ann stood there for a while, still contemplating on turn of events.

Kirihara's viridian eyes watched her through the gaps between the books; he had never seen her that content around him. He had hardly seen her crack a smile around him. Suddenly Ann turned around, and her hazel eyes met his widened green ones through the book cracks.

"Kirihara," she breathed out, shock evident in her eyes. Kirihara, also too stunned to talk since he had been caught red handed, shuffled around, ready to leave.

Her shock turned into anger, as she turned around and walked into the isle where he was standing. Her eyebrows were turned downward, and her eyes seemed as if they were burning furiously.

"You," she seethed, whispering, "you were eavesdropping on me?" An questioned.

Kirihara backed away a little, looking for a quick route out, "well what about you?" He replied, as confidently as he could.

She stepped closer to him, "what about me, Kirihara? What about me?" She repeated dangerously.

He didn't get a chance to reply, as she spoke, "I'm not the one who goes around bothering people and invading the personal privacy, as I please, do I? I'm not the nosey, idiotic one here," She said bluntly, as Kirihara glared at her.

Maybe she had taken it a bit to far as well because it gave Kirihara the perfect opportunity to snap back at her. "At least I don't go kissing people in public places like that, do I? I bet if I told your manager here that you spent half your time kissing that guy-"

"Don't bring him into this," Ann whispered harshly, but he continued.

"Maybe he'd fire you? Then what would you do? I bet you like kissing that Kamio guy, probably all you think about when you're here, right? Do you always get all twirly and happy, or do you just do that cause your excited to see him?" Kirihara pressed, ignoring her glare.

"You know what? I bet you payed him to take you out- no one would ever date someone so fucking ugl-_SMACK_.

The noise sounded like a loud crash amongst the library halls.

Kirihara stood there, dumbfounded as he felt his cheek swell at the impact.

He didn't care whether or not the sound echoed through the library, or that people might have been staring curiously. He was still processing the fact the she had just slapped him.

Hard.

Ann had mustered all the strength she could and striked him hard across the face; it was swelling, turning a deep red color. Kirihara stared at her, too shocked to speak.

She gave him one hard, long look before disappearing out of the isle. Kirihara could have sworn he saw water glistening at the side of her hazel eyes.

Then he wondered to himself why he had said all that.

* * *

"Well it's about time you came back- what the hell happened to your cheek?" Niou asked, rushing towards him, as the other two dropped their books and magazines and followed Niou.

"Looks like some fake Sanada slapped you 10 times," Marui exclaimed, poking the cheek from different angles. Kirihara didn't say anything.

Jackal examined it a bit more carefully, "hmm, nothing serious, although we should get an ice pack and maybe some bandages for later…" he trailed off, and Kirihara simply nodded.

Niou eyed him suspiciously, "what were you doing down there? And why haven't you been working?" He questioned seriously.

Kirihara looked at the table, " yeah, I was...distracted-"

"By what?" Marui asked, intensely eyeing him. The other two seemed curious as well.

"Nothing big," he replied quickly and collected his books. "We should get going, the library closes in 15 minutes.

"Well, as long as your working here, I guess it's fine," Niou grinned, and strolled towards the door, as the other three followed.

Kirihara didn't look back as he exited the library. The four of them walked down the road, and caught the last bus.

* * *

**Author Note:** And there's the second chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. Review are greatly appreciated!


	3. Stubborn: It's in his blood

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or anything associated with it.

* * *

"Dammit Kirihara - what's up with you," Marui yelled from the other side of the court.

"Nothing's wrong with me," he spat back.

Kirihara threw his racket on the court and angrily marched away, heaving towards the benches.

The morning practices were going as followed, as the team split up to do various activities. Marui and Kirihara had been paired off to play singles for a short while, but Kirihara's mind seemed to be in a whole other place.

Not only was he shell-shocked that An had slapped him, but he had begun to feel remorseful for what he had said after he caught a glimpse of her tearing. Kirihara was surprised by how closely he had been observing her, however short the time - and although he couldn't register what the feeling was, he labeled it as somewhat 'mushy'.

For both the good and the bad.

He found this new development intriguing and odd in many ways.

And to make matters worse, his grumpy exterior was clear as daylight to the rest of his teammates.

"What the hell Kirihara - you don't just walk out on a singles match like that," Marui said, popping his gum as he prodded towards the bench.

Kirihara didn't reply and simply covered his head with a towel.

"What's going on?" Jackal asked, stopping his stretching and walking up to the pair.

The attention of the remaining players centered on the shaded bench and soon, Kirihara was surrounded by multiple heads.

"I don't know, but he's being more stingy than usual," Marui replied.

Yagyuu tipped his glasses, "well there's obviously got to be logical reason for that, right Kirihara?"

"Tch, what are you saying Yagyuu - its Kirihara. There's never any logical reasoning with him," Niou shot back, pointedly.

"Well it's no use talking amongst ourselves," Yanagi stated and paused, "why don't we ask him directly."

"Kirihara?"

He snapped his head up to look at his obviously concerned teammates, "what?"

"What the hell's got your panties in a twist?" Marui said, raising a brow.

Kirihara growled, "nothing - it's none of your business." And with that, he threw the towel back on the bench and sped off in the direction of the school as the remaining five silently watched his retreating figure.

Once Kirihara disappeared from sight, Marui began to speak, but Niou beat him to it.

"Its a girl."

"You serious?" Jackal said, looking abashed.

Marui's mouth opened in shock, "really? I was going to say puberty's finally gotten to him, but hey, that reason works too."

Jackal sighed, "just stop Marui. But really, a girl?"

"Positive," Niou nodded.

Yanagi stared back in the direction that Kirihara had left off to, "how do you know this?"

Niou smirked slightly, leaning against the shaded bench, "the other day when we tailed him to the library under bouchou's orders, I was wondering why he stayed in the lower level for so long. So after these guys left," he said, gesturing to Jackal and Marui, "I went back to see. The library was closed, but the workers were still there and I was able to catch a glimpse of the girl inside when she was leaving," he ended as the others nodded.

Marui however, frowned, "wait - you mean the girl Kirihara's fussing over is the old croon hag sitting on the front desk?"

Niou shook his head as Jackal pinched the bridge of his nose, "no Marui. That's just wrong."

"The 'old croon' was on first level...but if you went down to the lower level you'd understand why he took so long. I know I would," Niou added, chuckling.

Yagyuu raised a brow, "oh? Who is she - someone we know perhaps?"

Niou shook his head, "someone we all know - An Tachibana."

The reactions of the group were all done simultaneously, and if summed up in one word it would be: shock.

Niou gave a small smirk at the groups' reactions.

"Her brother would peel Kirihara alive - by the flesh," Marui replied nonchalantly, breaking the silence.

Yanagi shook his head, "I doubt she would tell him right away - but this is an interesting development, no? She works at the library, and Kirihara goes there to study."

"You mean flirt," Niou corrected, now amused.

Yagyuu nodded, "but this creates a whole new problem."

"And what would that be?" Marui asked.

"I don't think Bouchou will mind too much if Kirihara is interested in a girl," Jackal replied, realizing the problem at once.

"It's not bouchou I'm worried about. It's fuku-bouchou," Yagyuu stated in a pained voice.

On cue, Sanada appeared on the other side of the courts with Yukimura, who seemed pleasantly dull all the same.

"Everyone, keep your mouth shut - this is not to be brought up in their presence. We will avoid it until we talk to Kirihara about this...predicament," Yanagi said quickly, and made his way to the two approaching them.

Marui picked up his racket and whistled, "well, at least I have something to bug Kirihara about- that little brat is totally in for it."

"This will definitely liven things up," Yagyuu said, with a faint smile, as he tipped his glasses.

"Puri."

The four players headed over to the court to continue their practices without Kirihara before they were asked to do so by Sanada...which never ended well.

"Anyone up for a doubles game?"

"I'm in."

"Whatever keeps fuku-bouchou away."

"Hmhmm, likewise."

* * *

Kirihara paced forward through the empty halls of Rikkai, occasionally hissing at any rare on looker he came across.

It was not his day.

He had left knowing the consequences and was sure that Fuku-bouchou would find him later that day at some point for a long one on one lecture about the importance of him playing tennis. But likewise, he was prepared for it - as long as no one bothered him right there and then, he would be fine later.

Much later.

_If only I didn't see her at the library, my life would be fine,_ he thought inwardly.

_I see her one more time this week; I'm going to break something._

And while Kirihara decided he would break something if he saw An again, what he couldn't decide was whether he would break it out of happiness or pure anger.

Or both.

Unfortunately, fate had different twists planned for him, none of which went according to what he wanted.

As Kirihara sped up his walk, he was so engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to see the figure that appeared to be walking just as fast as him. On his collision course track, Kirihara bumped straight into the figure, and swore loudly as the other yelped in surprised.

A soft 'umph' resulted from the person's mouth, as Kirihara quickly acted on his agile reflexes, and wrapped his arm around the strangers' waist softening their fall.

He blinked slowly, ready to scream at the idiot who had run into him.

It wasn't his fault, in any case.

"Kirihara?"

At the sound of her voice, Kirihara felt mind-boggled and his swearing was caught in his throat.

Her timing was horrible.

"An?"

She suddenly furrowed her brows, "who else would it be idiot," she huffed.

"What are you doing here?" Kirihara questioned, ignoring her insult.

An suddenly looked somewhat shamed, "I-...I just came here-"

"To what, slap me again maybe?" He snarled, suddenly angry.

Angry with her for showing up, angry that he almost felt happy to see her, and even angrier that she was having this abnormally obsessive effect on him.

"No," she said coolly, "I actually came to apologize for it. I was wrong to slap you, I just lost myself a bit...I couldn't...I- you're so annoying," she blurted and regretted it immediately, covering her mouth with her hands.

She couldn't help it - it was true to some extent from her experience.

Kirihara felt his eyebrows twitch, "I'm annoying, have you seen yourself? Walking around like you own the place and-"

"That's your job isn't it?" She hissed, jabbing a finger in his chest. Her apology was quickly forgotten.

Kirihara growled, "you're always looking for a fight, you know that?"

"Yeah, well - I never loose," she retaliated quickly.

"You will if you're against me," he smirked, throwing her accusing hand aside.

Ann felt her anger rise - she had originally come here to apologize after shoving her pride aside, but the way he was acting made her want to turn that apology into another slap.

Another hard one.

"You think you're so nice coming here to say sorry, but you should've done that ages ago and-"

"Kirihara," An cut in suddenly, "what are we doing?"

He tilted his head in confusion, "what do you mean- oh. Oh. OH."

The pair had been so immersed in their heated argument that they had failed to notice their positions on the hallway floor.

Kirihara still had one arm around her small waist while she lay under him with his knees straddling her thighs and his chest pushing into her breasts, as he held his weight on hers. An glared at him, as a light hue of pink began dusting her cheeks, "get off."

Kirihara though, didn't budge as his angular jaws jittered a bit, hesitating on speaking, but then he stopped.

His head seemed to be doing some quick thinking and soon his face held an unusually dark look. An stared up at his viridian green eyes, her own hazel irises widening when she noticed that he suddenly appeared more intimidating, more controlling after realizing their positions. An felt her heart skip a beat at his change in demeanor.

"Kirihara?" She said, attentively reaching out a hand.

He stared back at her, with clouded eyes, "what?"

Kirihara didn't know what came over him. Just seeing her under him, staring at him with her big doe eyes made him not want to move.

Nope.

Not even an inch.

Not even if someone walked right into them.

Not even if the entire world came crashing down on their heads, Kirihara didn't want to move - and that was a fact.

"Can - can you please get off?" She spoke again, more softly.

An seemed to realize the oddity of the situation, and Kirihara's sudden behavioral change meant nothing good - the best thing to do was calmly ask him to get off and leave. Besides that fact, An knew she could always come back later...at a more appropriate time.

A time when Kirihara did not feel like any other average teenage boy lying on top of a girl.

Her timing had certainly been horrible.

"Kirihara, get off," she said, wiggling her legs under his.

But Kirihara just ignored her, staring vividly at her general appearance.

An felt her impatience level rise a notch, as she pushed her hands into his chest, "Kirihara get of me! I'm serious," she said, harshly.

He didn't move.

"Kirihara! I don't have time for your games, I'm seeing someone after, so get off me righ-mhp-!"

"Shhh, just be quiet for a while," he replied, covering her mouth with his hand. Kirihara simply felt a sudden urge to lie there with her, however odd it may have seemed - it was uncontrollable and unexplainable altogether. An felt herself blush under his touch for no apparent reason, as she continued to struggle under him.

What had she gotten herself into?

And what was he doing, peacefully laying on top of her like it was okay?

Then, suddenly An looked Kirihara in the eye then bit down hard on his hand.

She tasted the pungent, metallic taste of blood on her lips and watched with some satisfaction as Kirihara grunted and swiped his away from her mouth. Her lips were covered in his blood, as she panted hard, still attempting to wriggle free of his grasp.

"What the hell!" He yelled.

An wiped the blood away from her lips, "shut up, it was your fault! And get off me for the last time!" She screeched.

"No."

"No?"

He smirked, looking for a way to stay like that, "you still have to apologize, remember?"

"After what you just did? I don't think so Kirihara - now, get off by the count of three or I will seriously kick you where it will hurt," she threatened.

He didn't budge, however serious the threat.

"Fine, don't apologize," he snorted, looking away.

"I won't apolo- wait what?" An thought she misheard what he had just said.

"Instead - kiss me."

A long moment of silence followed.

An lay under him, getting warmer and more baffled my the minute.

She stared at him as if he had just asked her to fly an elephant. "Excuse me?" She questioned, delirious.

Kirihara simply stared back, "you heard me. Kiss me," he repeated, ever so wistfully.

She glared back, "no."

An didn't move - Kirihara hadn't expected her too, in any case. Grabbing her hands, he pinned them above her head and knelt lower, "it wasn't really a question."

And in a quick move, Kirihara bent down and latched his lips onto hers, ignoring her loud protests. A sudden wave of calmness washed over him under the feel of her soft pink lips. He felt her arms limp under his grip, as he pressed his lips further into her mouth realizing she was not responding. Suddenly he felt a tugging sensation on his curly hair and saw that her hands had woven their way through them, pulling him closer. He silently grinned against her lips, when he felt her beginning to move her lips against his.

Kirihara forgot they were in a school hallway.

He forgot that he was supposed to be at his morning tennis practice.

All Kirihara wanted to do was keep kissing her, the girl under him - the girl who was forced to be under him.

An felt her breath leave as Kirihara's weight lay on her. She didn't know what came over her, but she found herself kissing the person she hated more fervently than ever, as she pulled at his hair, wrapping her arms around his neck, drawing him closer than he already was. Her mind seemed to have shut off completely, as her body reacted on his movements as he pulled her closer by the waist and she complied fully. His hands roamed across her back, over arms, finally resting on her hips almost naturally.

A hazy thought in An's head kept reminding her how wrong this was, how much she hated Kirihara, and how Kamio was waiting for at the cafe se had promised to meet him at.

_Kamio!_ She thought.

Her eyes snapped open.

An went rigid and pushed Kirihara away, panting hard all the while. She wiped her lips and gave Kirihara the most loathing stare she could muster, as she collected herself off the floor, picking up her bag in the process.

She dusted her shorts and fixed her sweater, and turned back to the now standing Kirihara.

"Kirihara, you're the worst," She whispered.

He stared at her with a mix of emotions before giving a light shrug, "I've heard that before."

At hearing his words, An brushed past him and ran out of sight.

Kirihara blinked aloofly at the strange turn of events.

Suddenly he grinned deviously, touching his lips. Slowly, he walked back down the hallway, pondering about the feel of her lips against his, the softness of them, the warmth of her body, the sweet scent of her hair.

He forget where he was - ah yes, school.

It was all too much for him.

Grinning, he made his way back to the tennis courts, ready for his plate of yells, screams, and 'where-the-hell-did-you-go'.

But none of that mattered at that moment.

Because Kirihara Akaya had somehow managed to kiss An Tachibana.

And he could have sworn that she had liked it.

* * *

**Author Note**: Har har, well that escalated rather quickly didn't it? As usual, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Reviews would be greatly appreciated~


	4. Stuck: There's a way out

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or anything associated with it.

* * *

Kirihara sat on the bench tying his shoelaces after school when he felt several eyes on the back of his head. He twitched in mild irritation, noting that the action had been happening since he came back from his long walk yesterday in the halls where he had run into An.

An.

His face lit up into a goofy grin.

Again, he felt several pairs of eyes looking at him. Grinding his foot into the ground, he snapped around to face his sempai.

"What?"

The others exchanged glances with each other, almost talking through their expressions. Kirihara's eyes jumped from face to face, growing angrier by the second.

"Would someone tell me what's going on?" He hissed, now facing them fully.

Marui gave a coy smile, "Kirihara, if anyone needs to tell us what's going on, it's you," he winked.

Kirihara his brows in confusion, "what do you mean?"

The others leaned closer to him, smiling knowingly.

Kirihara suddenly had a very tight not in stomach - their smiles never meant anything good.

"Its not good to hide things from your sempai, Kirihara," Yagyuu said, setting his water bottle.

Kirihara backed against the bench, still slightly confused, "what are you talking about? I'm not hiding anything," he muttered.

"Kirihara," Niou said, leaning against the tree, "how's the guide for book hunting helping so far?"

Kirihara was lost for a moment, but his eyes flickered in realization when he noted the title of book, "how do you know about that?" He questioned, half angry, half curious.

"Oh we know a lot more than that," Marui said, grinning.

Yanagi nodded, "you've got some explaining to do Kirihara - I don't want take this to fuku-bouchou."

Kirihara swallowed hard, about to speak when Jackal came running up from the other side of the field, his face melting into a knowing look when he eyed the group.

"Is she all right, Jackal?" Yagyuu asked.

Jackal nodded, "yeah she's fine, but she's still somewhat shocked."

"Who got shocked?" Kirihara asked.

Niou gave a small smirk, "the girl who almost tripped on you when you were on the floor...kissing apparently."

Kirihara felt his face burn, "who - what are you-?"

"She came running out here when she found out we were looking for you," Yagyuu explained, "she said some very intriguing things before collapsing head first."

"So who was the unlucky girl that had to go through hell and lock lips with your face?" Marui asked.

Kirihara sputtered, reddening further, "that's none of your business."

"Oh but it will be," Jackal said, in a merry voice, "and you're lucky that fuku-bouchou and bouchou have no clue about this affair of yours."

"I'm not having an affair!" He yelled back, a little too loud as he caught the attention of a few passers and people watching. Kirihara felt himself redden tenfold.

"That must've a pretty heated kissing session," Niou commented snidely.

Marui gave a nod of approval, "if it was enough to knock a girl out, then you must've been doing some pretty naughty things Kirihara."

The group smiled in unison as Kirihara stood their, stiff as a rock.

"So who is it?" Yagyuu asked.

Jackal patted Kirihara's shoulder, "I think we all know who it is."

Kirihara said nothing.

"Its not the best idea, Kirihara," Yanagi said in a serious tone. The others stopped smiling as well, knowing all to well what Yanagi was referring too.

Yagyuu tipped his glasses, "we have enough details to know that you haven't been studying at the library," he spilled.

Jackal nodded warily, "nor have you been going downstairs to get books."

"And your daily distractions are clear as daylight when you play tennis - it's like your mind is somewhere else," Marui added.

Kirihara slumped slightly, at loss for words.

"What are you doing with her anyway? I thought you hated her with a furious passion embedded in the depths of hell," Niou drawled lazily.

Kirihara ignored his sempai's attempts of humoring the situation. Frankly speaking, he was still shocked that they had figured out just about everything that had happened to him in relation with An. If anything, he was not content that his only privacy outside of school had been belittled too.

"I do hate her," Kirihara finally answered.

Marui snorted uncharacteristically, "yeah, and Jackal enjoys wrapping whales in a blanket in his spare time. Tell that to a group of people who'd believe that unholy statement."

Kirihara frowned, "okay, I don't hate her. But I don't like her either."

Yagyuu gave a small glimpse of a smile, "so you love her?"

"NO!"

Yanagi inwardly sighed, before picking up his racket, "Kirihara, if you don't like her then I suggest you stop associating yourself with her. You can study in the school library in the morning from now on and I will simply ask Sanada to double your practice after school if you can't get your act together."

"Ouch," Marui winced.

"It's only in your best interest, Kirihara," Yanagi consoled, "I'll talk to Sanada about it." He quickly sped of in the direction the lockers to find their Fuku-bouchou.

Niou ruffled Kirihara's hair lightly, "listen, even if you do like her, there's nothing you can do about it."

"I don't like her," he said gruffly, "and she doesn't like me."

Kirihara picked up his towel and headed off to the lockers, ready for a long shower to cool his head.

"Well, this is progressing swimmingly," Marui commented, watching Kirihara's retreating figure.

Jackal shook his head, "to think that the only girl who he's kissed happens to hate him - and at such an age," he sighed.

"Don't be such a mother, Jackal. Kirihara will be fine. If he had enough of courage to kiss her on the hallway floor, you can be sure there's plenty more where that came from," he said, eyes closed.

"Niou," Yagyuu said, testily, "well, in any case, consider yourselves on patrolling mode now."

Marui raised a brow, "and why is that - I swear last time I checked, we were baby-sitters."

"If anything, we're going to have follow Kirihara around a bit more...just to make sure he's on track," Yagyuu explained.

"You mean stalking?" Marui replied, popping a bubble.

Jackal grinned, "that term makes it sound like we're doing something bad."

"Well, aren't we?"

Niou shook his head, "nope, but that's really up to Kirihara to decide..."

"Lets go play tennis - my skills are gonna rot just standing her," Marui stated, stretching his arm.

"Right - someone go get Kirihara."

"I'm sure he'll be back on his own."

"Hmm."

True to Yagyuu's words, Kirihara did return and did play as usual, however angry he may have appeared. His shower was halted when he ran into Sanada and Yukimura who had changed his schedule for studying and tennis after Yanagi had suggested under strange circumstances, that Kirihara found the library...distracting.

_Looks like Yanagi-sempai talked to them after all,_ he thought.

And although he tried his best to get 'her' out of his head, it was far more of a difficult task than he imagined.

He packed his equipment quickly, changed back into his uniform - however messily he put it on - and quickly paced out of the change rooms, eager to leave for the day and go straight to sleep for the next to days, as it was a Friday.

His team watched him leave wearily, almost too excited to leave.

Thank goodness Sanada was outside - he'd have none of that.

Moodily, Kirihara walked out the front gates, loosening his tie ever so slightly as the evening wind picked up, a breeze of leaves following. Sighing he walked along the sidewalk at an easy pace, occasionally looking up at the sun dipping below the horizon. Upon reaching the bus stop, Kirihara hopped on the last but, reminding himself not to fall a sleep. Inside, he grabbed a seat at the back, and leaned his forehead against the window, gazing at the landscape outside.

Suddenly his eyes widened when the bus wisped passed an all too familiar figure surrounded by many other not-so-nice looking people.

Kirihara's curiosity always seemed to get the better of him.

When the bus halted at a stop sign, Kirihara grabbed his bag and jumped out the bus, running back to the scene he had just scene. He stopped at the bottom of many steps.

_A Street court, huh?_ He thought, walking up the steps.

Street courts were generally for street players who rarely had good intentions when asking for a game of tennis. Reaching the top of the steps, he snuck into the sidelines under a few trees, watching closely.

_She's always gotta get herself 'involved' doesn't she?_ He mentally noted.

Kirihara leaned against the shaded tree, watching as An stood on one side of the court and around half a dozen street players on the other side. They looked mean and tough, but talk was cheap, and in Kirihara's book, so were they.

His eyes stalked back towards An and he suddenly felt hot looking at her. He ogled at her in tennis attire, slowly and carefully. An had dressed according to the weather - Under he thin jacket, she had worn a navy blue tank, he bottoms consisted of a loose pair of short white shorts followed by tennis sneakers. Her hair had been left open, as it was not too long.

_Tch - why does her outfit have to be so exposing? Those guys can practically see through her_, he thought, irritated.

"Listen, I was here first and I'm almost done practicing, so just let me finish up and you can have these courts after," An called out together side of the court.

One of the boys in the group across her smirked, wagging a finger, "that's not how it goes, babe - these courts are open to everyone. And you're out numbered, so pack your bags and get the hell out."

An frowned, placing her hands on her hips.

Kirihara mentally palmed, noting that this only made her look more attractive - to anyone.

"I don't think so," she replied, and returned to practicing on the court.

The boy stood there silently staring at her, before breaking into a devious grin, "listen bitch, get out or we'll make you," he threatened.

An ignored it, "I said no already."

Raising a brow, the boy and the others behind him walked closer to her. Kirihara dropped his stuff, now certain that they would not take her words well.

_Why was he hiding anyway?_

Oh right.

She hated him.

Of course.

Silently, the group paced towards where An was practicing, stopping in front of her. She ignored them still.

The boy at the front rudely grabbed her hand, making her racket fall. Finally having all of An's attention, the boy smirked.

"Listen let's have a match. If I win, you leave."

An gave a devious grin of her own, "and if I win?"

The boy laughed dubiously, "then we'll leave, bitch."

An nodded, taking her position on one side of the court, getting ready. She furrowed her eyebrows however, when she noticed that all half a dozen of them were standing on the other side of the court.

"Hey, what gives?" She shouted, as the boy sneered.

"I never said it was a fair match."

An gripped her racket tightly as the other side served first. After that a series of long rallies began.

Kirihara had been keeping an eye on the score for the first bit, and was happy to say that An was winning. But he hadn't been the only one to notice. The group of boys gritted their teeth, retorting to ulterior methods. Soon the balls were only aimed at her ankles and feet. An seemed to realize this as well, as she tried to avoid them - unfortunately, every time she did so, she would miss a point.

Kirihara had now stepped into the open, mouth open.

_What is she doing?_

Suddenly An collapsed on one side of the court, gasping in pain as she clutched her ankle.

"Already tired bitch?" One of them taunted.

An simply hissed back.

"You know what - we'll let you go easy. Go out with me, and I'll totally forget this happened," the leader said, walking to her side of the court now.

She spat in his face.

He raised his arm, and An closed her eyes, ready for the impact, but it never came.

"Sorry man, but she's going out with me, so why don't ya take a hike okay?"

_Kirihara_, she thought.

Opening her eyes, she watched wide-eyed as he deflected the blow with one of his hands. The boy was clearly surprised as An was since he took a few steps back.

Growling the boy was ready to attack again, when one of them behind him came up and whispered something in his ear. The boy drew his hand back to his side and eyed Kirihara's uniform ruefully, before picking up his racket and motioning for the rest of them to follow in suit.

Kirihara watched the street players retreat down the stairs before turning back to see An clutching her ankle rather tightly.

"Crazy women," he muttered, bending down to look at her severely bruised ankle.

"What are you doing here?" She said rudely, looking away.

Kirihara gazed back up at her face, noting that she was holding in tears of pain.

"Is that someway to treat your savior?" He asked, raising a brow.

An spun her head back to face him, "savior? You? Hardly. I didn't ask you to bud in and play hero for me did I? Why are you here?"

"If you must know, my bus comes this way," he replied coldly, "I saw you here with these guys and knew you were just asking for trouble so-"

"So what made you think I needed saving? I was perfectly fine," she said stubbornly, looking away again.

Kirihara frowned, "it didn't look fine from where I was standing."

"Yeah, well I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Okay, then I'll just leave."

An bit her lip, but said nothing in reply as Kirihara got up and brought his bag from the sidelines, ready to leave.

He watched he struggling to get up, but she failed each time, cursing occasionally at her misfortune. Kirihara noted that she failed to meet his eyes - he figured it at something to do with the kiss, but that was simply a wild guess.

"What, did you forget something?" She spat from the corner of the court.

Kirihara merely watched her silently, before pacing closer and bending down once. He tried to pick her foot up, but she simply scooted further away until she felt the grass underneath her, prickling her skin.

"Stop moving," he commanded.

She didn't listen and kept backing away until her head hit the back of a tree, muttering a small 'ouch' in the process.

An realized as she was cornered and watched as Kirihara silently treaded forward, bending down once more.

He grabbed her ankle, examining it.

The sun was beginning to set, as a orange hue settled in the grassy area they were situated in.

"I'm fine," she mustered, "you can leave."

But Kirihara didn't leave. He simply gripped her foot lightly, and began removing her shoe and sock as An watched in shock, attempting to pull away her foot.

"I said I'm fine," she gritted out.

Kirihara gazed back up at her so intensely that An felt herself redden ever so slightly.

"Are you really?" He asked.

"Yeah, I am."

"Really?" He asked again, and wrapped a hand around her foot, gripping it tightly.

An hissed, "yes. Leave."

He gripped it even tighter until she yelped loudly.

"Ahh!"

"Are you fine?" He asked again.

She glared at him, "Kirihara you bastard, I'm fine so-"

"You're not fine," he interjected, having had just about enough of her silly stubbornness.

She said nothing and watched a he caressed her feet with his long fingers, looking for any other signs of damage. He found none and placed her foot back on the grass.

"You've twisted your ankle pretty badly," he concluded after a few moments.

She finally glanced at him, "you don't say..."

"Well, which way?"

An shot him a look of utter confusion, "which way to what?"

"To your house."

An realized his implications at once and vigorously shook her head, "no, go home now, Kirihara - just leave me alone okay? I've had too much of you in a week and your presence is driving me nuts."

Kirihara really did, with all his will power, try to maintain a cool head, but An was simply making a difficult task even harder. Could she not realize that he was simply trying to help her a bit? With his temper brimming at the boiling point, he gruffly looked around, but no one was there to help. Her stubbornness was ridiculous and her gaze was still fierce, however many insults he threw at her.

It was obvious that words wouldn't do the trick.

And as Kirihara had learned, actions often spoke more than words.

He watched as she pulled her shoe back on, clambering at the tree in attempts of getting up, but failed to no avail.

He mentally listed the consequences, before he grasped her shoulders. Before An could comprehend the situation, she felt herself being spun around and hoisted of her feet into the air briefly before being tossed casually around to meet a rather lean yet muscular back.

"Kirihara!" She yelled in protest.

But he simply hauled his bag and hers around his shoulder and started walked towards the exit of the tennis courts.

"W-what are you doing?" She asked, baffled.

"What does it look like? I'm carrying you."

"I know that b-but, wh-"

"Which way to your house," he cut in, growing tired of her stupid questions.

An sighed, "exit and keep going straight on the path...I'll tell you where to turn."

Kirihara smirked, "see what did I tell you - if you fight against me, your gonna lose."

An was at loss for words at his childish proclaim. She said nothing and simply adjusted herself on his back, finding it hard to move herself.

"Uhm, Kirihara...?"

"Yeah?"

She glanced sideways, "could you please, move me a little...I'm kind of squished back here."

Scowling, he properly propped his arms under her legs, his hands gripping her thighs as her legs hung loosely behind him. To balance herself, An leaned closer into his back, resting her hands on his shoulders.

The walk was slow but peaceful and neither of them said anything. The road was quiet and Kirihara could feel her soft breath on the back of his neck. His hairs stood up, but he figured it was merely the wind.

"Take a right here," she said softly, leaning closer to his shoulder.

Kirihara did as followed.

"This doesn't change anything you know," she muttered quietly, after a while.

Kirihara glanced back at her, watching her hazel eyes close slightly, "what is there not to change?"

"How about the fact that I hate you," she replied back, now yawning.

"Well I kissed you."

An's eyes opened now, and she glared at him, "I know you did."

"And you liked it."

She narrowed her eyes, "how do you know I did?"

"Because you kissed me too."

An sighed and tucked her head back, closing her eyes once more. She silently played with the curls of hair at the back of his head. He noticed this but said nothing as the pair walked down the road, the sun's last rays dipped down the horizon.

Kirihara suddenly realized the situation they were in, and grinned. He felt her lean even closer to him if that was physically possibly, while she stroked his hair. He could smell her shampoo, whatever the girls put on their head - it smelled good. And undeniably, her hands felt great. He silently prayed that whatever An was doing with her hands, she wouldn't stop.

She tugged at one of his hairs, "turn left after this house and it's the 4th one to the left."

Kirihara nodded, adjusting her weight on his back once more. He heard a soft snore emit from the person behind him. Clicking his tongue, he quickly paced to her house and upon reaching her door, stopped short.

"We're here," he whispered.

Any run-ins with her brother were least preferred, and if possible entirely avoidable in his case. When he got no response, he turned his head ever so slightly. His view was met with a sleeping An.

_Shit - of all the places to sleep,_ he inwardly groaned.

"An," he hissed, annoyed.

She groggily rubbed her eyes, "what - oh," she noted, shifting slightly.

Getting off his back very carefully, An rummaged through her bag as he held on. Grasping her keys, she limped to the door with his help and slowly opened the door.

"My brothers away on a trip, he'll be back on Sunday, so don't worry," she said in a sleepy voice.

Kirihara snorted, "who said I'm worrying, idiot."

He helped her inside and dropped the bags shortly after the entered.

"You can go now."

Kirihara almost rolled his eyes.

"Are you planning on flying up the stairs?"

She shot him a weary glance, before he hoisted her across his back once again and took her up to the room. Kirihara naturally assumed the room with decorated teddy bears was hers - and he was correct.

"Okay, get off," he said, ready to drop her on the bed.

But An didn't budge.

Kirihara turned his head back to find the girl sleeping once more.

Cursing his luck, he slowly turned her around and carefully placed her on the bed. He sighed at the relief on his shoulders, but if fell short when he noted her arms hadn't let go of his neck. Awkwardly bending over her, Kirihara stood there, at loss for what to do.

"Kirihara, go to sleep," she whispered, before pulling him closer. He fell on top of her soft body, feeling its warmth radiate under him.

_Oh crap_, he thought.

He was in her room.

He was lying on top of her.

He was in An Tachibana's room lying on top of her.

Lord help him.

* * *

**Author Note:** Ah, that was a bit of a late update, but hey, at least it's up now. The next chapters gonna be really fun to write with all this...drama. As usual, reviewing are greatly appreciated~


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